Chanel

When in Doubt, Chanel It Out | Makeup of the Day

March 28th, 2023 by Karen 4 Comments

My new favorite makeup philosophy is the following: “When in doubt, Chanel it out.”

I haven’t worn any face paint in weeks (!), but this morning, I promised myself that I would give it a try. When I’m feeling like everything is too hard, Chanel was the *only* answer, ya know?

I’m wearing a handful of Chanel favorites in this look!

One thing I’ve relearned recently is that subtle makeup in real life doesn’t translate as well when you’re dealing with the camera. Apparently this is a lesson that I have to learn over and over again, LOL!

Hope your Tuesday has been terrific. It’s a rainy and cold one here in Nor Cal, but I’m focusing on all the blessings.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: NARS Dragon Girl | Caboodles | Chanel at Ulta | Vogue Magazine

March 1st, 2023 by Karen 11 Comments

Today I really wanted to wear NARS Dragon Girl lipstick but couldn’t find it, but I guess that makes sense seeing how The Great Makeup Purge happened around these parts in the last couple years, LOL!

This pic of me wearing it is from 2017, and ya know what? I’m actually relieved I made myself get rid of it because chances are I probably would’ve kept it and worn it still, and even I have to admit that’s pretty gross.

I’m going to pop by Ulta today because 1) I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without Dragon Girl (it’s a must-have red) and 2) I need to buy Connor a last-minute birthday present. She’s turning seven tomorrow, can you believe it?

Time really does fly when you’re having fun — and raising a tiny human!

During the last few trips to Ulta, she’s admired the Caboodles, so she’s going to finally get one this year for her birthday.

I doubt that she’ll want to put makeup in it, though, because during her last dance performance, she absolutely refused to wear any makeup beyond the dance team bare minimum requirement of red lipstick. No blush, no eyeshadow, no glitter. Just red lipstick. I KNOW. I was shocked, too.

Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I’ll get her a stick of Dragon Girl, too.

Her Caboodle will probably hold play jewelry or art supplies (or both), no doubt!

While we’re on the subject of Ulta, GIRL… Did you know Ulta sells Chanel makeup now? Yes! It looks like they carry a lot of the line, too, including my favorite Chanel foundation, Vitalumiere Aqua. I have quite a few points saved up, so I might be doing a lil’ Chanel shopping there soon.

Question for you. Were you an “Allure” subscriber like I was before they shut down their print magazine? I still really miss it. Sigh! Anywho, they sent me the latest copy of “Vogue” as a replacement, and you know what? I’m really enjoying it! Maybe it’s because I’m starved for a beauty magazine I can hold in my hand, but I’ve been devouring the latest issue with Erykah Badu on the cover.

This is my favorite Erykah Badu song, by the way

I’m going to try to finish work early today, so I can do all the pre-birthday prep that needs to happen before tomorrow (including Connor’s annual birthday lasagna). Time to shred some mozzarella!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Checking In: TGIF | Leche Flan Adventures | A Most Excellent Foundation by Chanel

January 27th, 2023 by Karen 16 Comments

Connor made this note, which is supposed to say, “When you’re feeling sad and blue, find a friend to help you through.”

Hi, friend! Thank goodness it’s Friday. No seriously. TGIF! Been a long week.

I just finished a video interview with a beauty brand which I use and love… I think it went OK! I should be finding out more next Monday, so until then, please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me.

Anywho, all this preparation for video calls lately has reminded me of just how stellar Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation truly is.

Most days I typically wear a sheer tinted moisturizer (Urban Decay Hydromaniac), but if I’m going to be on camera, then Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua is it!

Not only can I barely feel it on, ’cause lightweight is totally key, but it smoothes out my pores and evens out patchy-looking parts without appearing obvious. I’m wearing 50 Beige in this pic, which I set with a light dusting of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden. A *chef’s kiss* worthy combo!

I think I mentioned earlier in the week that I’m learning how to make a Filipino dessert called leche flan. It’s like a creme brulee, but without the crunchy top, and it’s typically served at Filipino parties and celebrations.

Leche flan has two parts. First, you make a caramel on the stovetop.

Don’t ask me why, but for some reason, this part is completely terrifying to me! I think it’s the fact that you don’t have a lot of wiggle room with making caramel, so you have to heavily rely on your instincts to know when it’s time to take it off the heat. Otherwise it’ll burn, baby, burn.

Plus, that ish gets hella hot! I can see myself burning a hand or a wrist quite easily in a caramel-related incident.

OK, so the caramel goes into the bottom of your ramekin. Ideally neater than I did here.

The second part involves making custard out of egg yolks, evaporated milk, condensed milk and a little vanilla. Then you strain it at least two times…

The custard goes into the ramekins, and then you steam them on the stove or in an oven. When a knife goes into the middle and comes out clean, they’re done.

After cooling down, you loosen the edges and then flip the ramekin onto a plate. You’ve gotta get all the juicy bits, too!

The result is a creamy, silky caramel custard. YUM.

Let’s see, what else has been going on? One of my New Year’s resolutions was to learn how to cook a few vegan dishes, and this was one I made for lunch early on in the week.

It’s garlic fried rice with stir fried potatoes, zucchini and edamame in a homemade teriyaki sauce — which is just equal parts sugar, soy sauce and water, sprinkled with ground ginger powder. It was pretty good, but next time I make it, I’m going to add cashews to bump up the protein.

I’m finally calming down from the excitement of my earlier interview and now ready to get the weekend started, like, right meow. LOL!

What are your plans? Doing anything fun?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

3 Recent Revelations, and Ilia Rococco Lipstick

September 27th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

ilia roccoco hourglass ray — Key products: Ilia Rococco Lipstick, Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow in Ray and Chanel Malice Blush

1. Re: buying blinds for your house

We finally caved in and went to a store that specializes in blinds because all the options and colors have just gotten too overwhelming.

We had someone come out yesterday to measure and walk us through the process, and the biggest takeaway I got was that continuity is key when you’re buying blinds.

For example, when all the shades or blinds are down and you’re looking at your house from the outside, it’s really nice to see all the window treatments matching.

If you don’t want to do that, and say, you have a two-story house, you can match all of the blinds on the first floor, and then have a different type of matching treatment on the top floor.

My point is, you ideally want to have some sort of continuity with your window treatments! Who knew?

2. Ilia Rococco Lipstick is lovely, but…

I got this a while back but haven’t worn it in a bit. It’s a beautiful warm rosy pink lipstick that’s loaded with pigment, but be mindful of it transferring onto your teeth. That’s why I’m smiling with my lips closed in the top pic, LOL!

ilia tahiti rococco — Fun with Ilia lip products!

3. You can wear a bodysuit unsnapped

Holy crap, this has been one of those weirdly surprising game changers for me. I love having the longer length of a bodysuit because I don’t like it when tucked-in shirts ride up, but sometimes I just can’t deal with snapping and unsnapping the crotch part. I recently read that if you’re not in the mood to snap, you can just skip it and wear the bodysuit loose. That’s what I’ve been doing lately, and it’s been glorious.

Here’s the thing, though: You have to make sure that the bottom of your bodysuit doesn’t escape. It’s easier to keep track of the front, but the back it can be tricky. I get around this by wearing pants with a high rise and/or a long blazer.

Have you had any revelations (beauty related or otherwise) lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Makeup: Your Tried and True Staples?

September 15th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

I’ve been wearing a lot of Chanel lately, and for the first time in a while, I’m feeling inspired to wear makeup again!

What are your tried and true staples from the brand?

Here are mine at the moment.

Malice Powder Blush: Oldie but goody! May the makeup gods never discontinue this beauty.
Les Beiges Eyeshadow Palettes: I wear Medium and Deep all the time. Side note: Both are still available in the permanent line.
Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation: This foundation is absolutely gorgeous and foolproof. Looks great on camera and in real life, and bonus, it doesn’t move in hot weather. My shade is 50 Beige (although I could go up to 60 beige in the summer).
Les Beiges Healthy Sheer Colour Stick Blushes: I wear these a TON. The bronzer, No.20, is my favorite.
Road Movie Eyeshadow Quad: This was an LE release from a few years back which they added to the permanent collection. The blue and teal are both surprisingly wearable.
Stylo Yeux Eyeliner in Espresso: Honestly, this is the best brown liner for tightlining. Doesn’t irritate my eyes and stays on all day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: The Gift of Vegetables, Cabbage Rolls and Chanel Tweed!

September 1st, 2022 by Karen 16 Comments

The bounty of produce being gifted to me by my neighbors continues! Check out these beans…

What does one do with purple beans? I’m thinking of roasting them, but I dunno. A heat wave is coming in, and I don’t fancy turning my oven on when it’s boiling outside.

Oh, remember that massive head of cabbage my other neighbor gave me last weekend? I ended up making cabbage rolls with ground beef, rice and parsley.

This was my first time, and they turned out OK!

I found the recipe on the Jenny Jones cooking blog. Remember Jenny Jones, the talk show host from the 90s? A few years ago she was active on YouTube and did a whole bunch of cooking videos, and they’re fun to watch. It’s been years since she’s posted, though.

Jenny Jones fun fact: before she rose to fame, she owned her own catering business.

I’ve tried two recipes from her site so far, the cabbage rolls and a 20-minute meal called spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, both of which were light, easy and excellent.

Back to the cabbage rolls. Jenny says they’re great as leftovers the next day and suggests frying them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. That’s what I’m gonna have for lunch today. YUM!

On a beauty note, the tweed quads are up on the Chanel website. The one with browns, taupes and rosy shades, Brun et Rose, looks really lovely.

There’s also new nude nail polishes that look good, too. I don’t know what it is about Chanel, but they do such a good job of hitting all the right notes when it comes to neutrals and basics. UGH, WANT.

What else is going on, hmmm? Oh, forgive me for living underneath a rock, but I’ve only recently discovered the singer Harry Styles.

I’ve been listening to a random assortment of his music, and these are the two songs I’ve had on repeat.

Sometimes he reminds me of Prince and sometimes he sounds like the band Phoenix; it’s hard to pin his genre down. If you get a moment give his songs a listen.

Alright, I’m off to start my day. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far! Did you wake up this morning just as surprised as I was to find out that it was Thursday? Yes? No? Whatever you’re up to today, I hope you find a way to find joy in your tasks — even the mundane ones.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summery Taupe Smoke

June 29th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

Oh, smokey eyes, I’ve missed you!

I wore shimmery, summery, taupe-y smokey eyes to take Connor to gymnastics camp and swimming lessons yesterday. I can say with 100% certainty I was the only person in both instances wearing smokey eyes, which kinda bums me out. Think of how visually interesting it would be if you could stand in a gymnastics camp line at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday and stare at a variety of smoked out lids. I may be alone in wanting this to be a thing, but whatevs!

The star of this summery smoke show is a liquid shadow by Chanel called Vastness. It’s a warm, bronzy taupe with a deliciously subtle shimmer. It used to be part of Chanel’s permanent collection but appears to be missing in action on the Chanel website, which is a bummer, because it’s SO GOOD. It’s easy to blend, has a perfect level of pigment and you don’t need much at all. I did some digging and found it on the Macy’s website, but it’s low stock, so grab it while you can!

I’m wearing Vastness with Espresso liner, a Chanel workhorse. I lined my eyes, then applied the shadow using this technique to smoke it out.

For my lips and cheeks, I went with a bright, juicy pink, Honest Beauty Liquid Lipstick in Goddess. I swiped a layer on my lips, blended it with a finger, then used the same finger to tap the lipstick onto the apples of my cheeks as blush. Then, I dabbed Ilia Lip Tint in Tahiti on my lips for a touch of shine.

The glowing base is Rose Inc Skin Enhance Tinted Serum (I wear shade 80)! It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites for sheer coverage. More on this in a few.

Hope your week is going great so far and that life is treating you well. Has anything good happened to you lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Fresh and Summery Makeup With a Tiny Bit o’ Sparkle

June 23rd, 2022 by Karen 6 Comments

Hiya! Is it hot enough for ya? We’re barely into summer and I’m already ready for fall. LOL!

This is the makeup look I’ve been wearing lately; you might’ve read about it last week in the post about the birthday shade tent. Here it is in much better lighting. The Chanel foundation, cream stick blushes and gloss are *chef’s kiss.* Holla at me if you have any questions about anything…

Summer music list

I’ve decided that it’s been too long since I’ve made a summer playlist. I’m thinking the theme will be booty shaking dance music. LOL! I just started and so far have the following two songs, and I would love your suggestions if you have any.

IYKYK

Get it, B!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen